Chapter 1
Comprehension Questions
1. What is the first sign of trouble on the farm?
 Mr. Jones is drunk as usual and doesn’t properly secure the animals before
going to bed
2. How do the animals arrange themselves to hear Old Major’s speech?
 The dogs arrive first
 The pigs are second to arrive. They sit in front of Old Major’s speaking
platform
 Next come the hens, pigeons, sheep and cows
 Next are Box and Clover (two cart horses)
o Clover lets orphaned ducks shelter between her legs
 Muriel, the goat, and Benjamin, the donkey
 Mollie, a white horse, was showing off her red ribbons
 Finally the cat came in
 Moses, the raven, failed to come
3. What can be implied from the positioning of the animals?
 There is a solidarity between the animals
 They share similar concerns
 The seating position suggests there is a class division
o The pigs and dogs hold a higher class
4. What happens when Old Major says all animals are comrades?
 The dogs notice some rats listening to Old Major’s speech
 The dogs leap on the rats
 Old Major calls for a vote – Are wild animals friends of the farm or enemies?
 Animals vote unanimously – friends.
5. What type of literary device did the author use with the scene between the dogs and
rats while Old Major was speaking?
 Irony
6. Who is the enemy? Why?
 Mr. Jones – owner of the farm
 For the first time, the animals understand that they are slaves to men
7. What was Old Major’s dream about?
 Revolution against man
o Animals must overthrow humans
 He says:
o No animal should every kill another animal
o No animal should act like a man
8. Find an example of each these persuasive techniques in Old Major’s speech.
Persuasive Language – Persuasion is a way of convincingly getting others to
believe or do something. There are many different persuasive techniques.
i. Rule of Three – Three is considered the most effective number for listing
or talking about things. (i.e. “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
and “blood, sweat, and tears”)
ii. Hyperbole – overstatement dramatically magnifies the importance of a
particular point.
iii. Alliteration – repetition of an initial sound is persuasive because it adds
emphasis and makes the idea more memorable.
iv. Repetition – forces the listener to remember things.
v. Rhetorical Questions – are not supposed to be answered. They are
supposed to make you think. The answer is often within the question.
vi. Emotive Language – using strong, emotional words to play on people’s
feelings (sleazy, slimy, vicious, disgusting, outrageous)
9. Are there any similarities between the animal’s culture and human society?
Chapter 2
Comprehension Questions
1. What happens after Old Major dies, before the rebellion?
 The pigs teach Animalism to the animals
 The pigs taught themselves to read
 The pigs paint the seven commandments of Animalism on the back wall of
the barn
2. Who is the most devoted to Animalism? How do you know?
 Boxer and Clover
 Neither is very bright
 Their belief in animal equality never wavers
 They never miss a meeting
3. Why do the animals dislike Moses and his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?
 Most animals dislike Moses because he never does any work
 Many believe in Sugarcandy Mountain
 Moses symbolizes the Russian Orthodox Church
4. What events lead to the beginning of the rebellion?
 In June, on Midsummer’s Even, Mr. Jones gets so drunk in town, he forgets
to feed the animals
 His workers go hunting after they milk the cows. They didn’t feed the
animals either.
 The hungry animals break into the feed shed which wakes up Mr. Jones
 He and his men begin whipping the animals
 The animals are furious and drive the men off the farm
5. What do the animals do after the humans are run off of the farm?
 They check the perimeter of the farm to make sure that no humans are on
the farm
 They break down the farmhouse door and decide it should be preserved as a
museum
 Pigs repaint the farm gate sign to read: Animal Farm
6. Who are the leaders of the rebellion?
 The pigs are the smartest of the animals
 Over the next three months two pigs emerge as leaders
o Snowball
o Napoleon
7. What makes them leaders?
8. At the end of the chapter, the milk disappeared. What happened to it?
 Napoleon sends Snowball and the other animals to the fields
 When they return that night, the milk is gone
 Napoleon wants the milk for himself
9. What does it imply?
10. What are the commandments?
 Whatever has two legs is an enemy
 Whatever has four legs or wings is a friend
 No animal shall wear clothes
 No animal shall sleep in a bed
 No animal shall drink alcohol
 No animal shall kill any other animal
 All animals are equal
11. What do you think was the real purpose of the commandments?
 They ae the animals’ version of a constitution
Reader Response
What do you know about Snowball and Mollie’s characters from this dialogue?
The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare. The very
first question she asked Snowball was: “Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?”
“No,” said Snowball firmly. “We have no means of making sugar on the farm.
Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want.”
“And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?” asked Mollie.
“Comrade,” said Snowball, “those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the
badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?”
Molly agreed, but did not sound very convinced.